Three Small Words
by mskairijade
Summary: Hermione has finally expressed her true feelings and is feeling crushed....but does she really have a reason to be? Small Oneshot


_A/N: Hey everyone! I was really bored one night so I sort of threw this little Dramione one-shot together. I'm not hugely happy with it personally but my friend read it and liked it so I thought I'd post it for you all to read as well. If you dont like it, it's all good but if you do make sure you let me know! Read and Review people lol it's really not that hard LOL!_

_OH PS for those following my Destiny Series, I'm having a bit of writer's block but I promise that at least one new chapter will be up by the end of the weekend--even if I have to stay up for the next 2 days straight!_

_Luv to all_

_Kai_

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**_Three Small Words_**

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Hermione Granger ran through the forest as fast as her legs could carry her. She had to get away, as far away as possible. There was no way she'd ever go back now, it was just too much for her to handle. How could she have actually admitted--to ANYONE--let alone to the ferret himself that she actually loved him? How could she have been so utterly stupid? The look on his face said enough to stop her heart for a moment before she turned on her heel and ran from the Great Hall, her long crimson gown flowing in the breeze behind her. She had ran so fast that she hadn't seen the strange looks the other students were giving her as she rushed past. She had been so lost in her own thoughts and pain that she hadn't heard him calling after her.

Not really paying attention to where she was going when she fled from the castle, her feet took her straight into the Forbidden Forest. It was a cold February night and here she was, running through the thick and dangerous forest wearing nothing but a thin and flowing sleeveless gown and a pair of crimson heels. Not exactly the best 'running away' outfit in the world but here she was anyway, running away. Which in itself was strange because Hermione Granger never ran away from anything in her life. But now she was doing just that and all because of a boy. Of course, it wasn't just any boy either. It was the one boy who she knew she should never have trusted. The one boy in all of Hogwarts that was truly and utterly off limits to someone like her.

But did Hermione listen? No, she fell and she fell hard. And it all started because of a little moment of compassion from the blonde haired Slytherin.

_**FLASHBACK**_

_Hermione heard footsteps approaching her as she leaned against the cold stone wall in the deserted corridor. She had just found out that her parents had been attacked and killed inside their own house while the Dark Mark shone brilliantly above her childhood home. It was September 19, just under three weeks into her last year at Hogwarts. And to top it all off, it was her 18th birthday._

_It was supposed to have been the best year of her life. She had been made Head Girl, not that there had ever been any real doubt in her mind of course. Her best friends were still there, right beside her and they were as happy as ever. She had received many beautiful birthday gifts just that morning from Harry and Ron, surprisingly enough considering they weren't exactly the best gift shoppers in the world. Everything was going perfect for Hermione until half way through Potions class, her last class of the day (which was still with the Slytherins unfortunately) when Professor McGonagall showed up in Snape's classroom saying that she was needed immediately in the Headmaster's office._

_Now here she was, lost and alone, huddled in a tiny ball against the stone wall of some deserted corridor. The footsteps she heard grew steadily closer till all of a sudden they just stopped. Hermione ceased her quiet sobs momentarily hoping that if she stayed perfectly still and quiet the person would simply go away. Unfortunately it was not the case because just as she dared to raise her eyes slightly, she felt a presence crouch beside her and a warm hand on her arm. She jumped slightly and raised her eyes a bit more to see a pair of icy blue-grey eyes staring back at her. Hermione recognized the eyes immediately but then noticed something very different behind the eyes that was not normally there._

_"It's alright, Granger." The voice behind the eyes said to her. "It's alright to cry."_

_Normally this would've startled Hermione coming from the blonde haired Slytherin but something in his eyes told her that he wasn't going to hurt her or taunt her or make any of his usual rude comments. Hermione stared into those icy eyes for a moment before allowing the tears she had been holding back since she heard the footsteps fall silently down her cheeks. A pair of strong arms surrounded her and held her tightly, holding her for as long as she needed._

_After Hermione had finally calmed herself down enough to make the trek back to the Head dormitories, Draco had helped her to her feet and gave her a small and gentle kiss on the forehead. He told her that any time she needed someone to talk to or just someone to cry on, just send him an owl and he'd come. Hermione hadn't realized it at the time but that was just the beginning of a wonderful relationship._

_**END FLASHBACK**_

The tears flooded down her face as Hermione continued to run through the thick trees. Everything had been perfect this year, despite the awful way it had began. She and Draco had started out as just friends, small confidants that they could talk to about anything. Sometime that friendship had begun to blossom into something much more, however, at least to Hermione. They had begun spending more and more time together, eventually revealing their feelings through an unexpected but immensely heated kiss a couple weeks before Thanksgiving. That's when Hermione had begun to feel herself starting to fall for the handsome Slytherin. And fall hard she did. By Christmas holidays, she was certain that she was head over heels in love with Draco Malfoy but she was terrified to tell him how she felt because she was sure that though he may like her, there was no way that he loved her the way she loved him.

It was when they came back from Christmas holidays (Draco from his home and Hermione from the Burrow with Ron and Harry), Hermione had decided that she was ready to take their relationship to the next level and gave her virginity to Draco the night they returned to school. The next day they decided to make their relationship public since it was no longer a small 'affair' so to speak. Plus, they had grown tired of having to hide their feelings from the other students around school and wanted to be able to show their feelings outside of closed classrooms. Hermione especially was sick of lying to her best friends. Needless to say, while most of the student population, with the exception of a few Slytherins--Pansy Parkinson namely--most of the students had seemed glad it had finally happened. Harry and Ron, on the other hand, were definitely not pleased at first. Ron refused to speak to Hermione for the next six weeks while Harry had only taken a few days. He wasn't pleased with it but he finally decided that if Hermione was happy then he'd just have to deal with it since she was his best friend.

By the beginning of February, Draco had all but moved in to the Head Girl's chambers so that they could be closer to each other. That's when it came to the Valentine Ball. Hermione had decided that it was going to be the night that she finally admitted her feelings to Draco and told him that she loved him. It was going to be the second hardest thing she had to do. The night started out beautifully, Draco and Hermione had danced together for most of the night, reveling in each other's presence. Hermione had never been happier in her life. That was up until the song started up it's final ballad for the night, the second to last song and Hermione decided that it was now or never, she was going to tell him. As the music began to play and the couple started swaying closely, Hermione looked up into Draco's eyes and felt her heart fill with the warmth it got every time she was close to him.

Draco leaned in and placed a passionate kiss on Hermione's lips. As he pulled away, she looked into his eyes again and without hesitation said those three little words she'd been dying to say for months now.

"I love you, Draco."

Draco stopped moving suddenly and just stared back at her. She felt her nervousness begin again and tried to search his eyes for some sort of sign that he felt the same way but all she found was confusion and surprise. He pulled away from her slightly and Hermione felt her heart break. He didn't love her back, he couldn't. She knew that but yet she still managed to allow herself to dig her own grave by telling him that she loved him. She felt the hot tears begin to swell up behind her eyes as she stared into his and, stepping back slightly, she turned on her heel and tore from the hall, out the doors, across the grounds and into the darkened forest.

She had been running for what seemed like an hour or so when she finally ran out of breath and collapsed to the ground, her tears still flowing swiftly down her cheeks like a raging river. Her hand ran over her stomach as she thought about the baby growing inside it. She'd only found out a couple days before that she was pregnant and that was another big thing she had planned on telling Draco tonight but now she didn't even want to see him. She didn't want to see anyone ever again after the humiliation she felt.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts and her tears that she never heard the swift footsteps approaching. The same footsteps that had been following her since she ran from the Great Hall. It wasn't until she heard his voice did she realize that he had been following her.

"Hermione?" Draco's voice penetrated her thoughts as he stopped behind her.

Hermione jerked her head up from it's hanging position and she forced herself to her feet. She couldn't face him now after what had happened. She was just about to start running again when he grabbed onto her arm and spun her around to face him. She tilted her tear-stained face towards his and locked eyes with his. Draco stared at her in confusion.

"Why did you run away?" He asked her, loosening his grip from her arm and letting it fall from his hand. He lifted the same hand and cupped her cheek in his palm tenderly.

"Because," Hermione said quietly, moving away from his touch and turning her back to him. "Because I should never have said what I did. It was stupid to think that you could ever return my feelings. I mean, you're…"

"Hermione," Draco interjected but Hermione kept on her ramblings.

"You're a pureblood and a Slytherin. I know it was just some fling but I couldn't help myself. I don't need you to apologize for not returning…" Hermione kept going, not even hearing him call her name again.

"Hermione, I…" Draco tried again but still Hermione didn't hear him.

"…the feeling. I mean how could you love someone like me? It was just a foolish, idiotic, lapse of judgment. I never should have let myself fall…" Hermione rambled till finally Draco got her attention.

He grabbed her arm again, only gentler this time, and spun her once again around to face him. But before she could finish her rambling, he silenced her with his lips in a heated and passionate kiss. Hermione melted into him and felt the fire she had felt so many times before. They pulled away from the kiss to catch a bit of air and just as Hermione was about to open her mouth to say something, Draco stopped her with a finger to her lips.

"Hermione, I love you too."


End file.
